Are the carbon and energy footprints catching up with the networked world?

I was interested to see (at last!) that my friend John Naughton has picked up on issues relating to the carbon footprint of the networked world - or at least that part of it generated by the act of 'Googling'. I would agree with him that this is an issue for which the time has come - I too expect it to run and run during 2009 ... as I hope will all attempts to understand carbon and energy dynamics in whole - of - system analyses associated with any innovation or decision.

This does not seem to have been the case with recent Environmental Impact assessments of the planned desalination plant for Melbourne.